Jonas Edward Deckys

Posted

Nov 6, 1930 – June 24, 2018

As the 3rd-oldest of 6 children, Jonas Edward Deckys (nee Detzkies) was born November 6, 1930 to Jonas and Ona in the Baltic Sea coastal city of Klaipeda, Lithuania. His early years before WWII were filled with adventure, spending much of his time at the family’s successful stocking factory. Over the years we often heard stories about his jumping off the 2nd-story factory roof using a blanket as his parachute, riding horses bareback on the Baltic seashore, and the time when the family car was pulled over by extorting local gangsters.

When the Nazis occupied Lithuania, the factory was confiscated and the family quickly packed whatever bags they could throw in their truck, fleeing to safer outlying parts of Lithuania. After a failed attempt later to reclaim the factory, the family traveled to Germany where they hid among country farmers for the duration of the war, which accounted for Jonas’ ability to speak German as one of his several languages.

After WWII, the Deckys found themselves in a U.S. Army “displaced persons camp” for about 5 years until Jonas arranged for his parents and siblings to immigrate to America. After processing through Ellis Island, the family made their way to a Lithuanian neighborhood in Chicago. Jonas’ sense of adventure in pursuit of The American Dream took him to Nebraska where he first landed a job at the Cudahy Slaughterhouse. It was in Omaha he met Edite, the love of his life, who herself was a Latvian survivor of the Nazis and Soviets. Several months later, they eloped in his Cadillac to L.A. where he found work as an artist and illustrator. While residing in their first home near the Hollywood studios, their first two children, Ed and Cindy, were born.

In 1958 Jonas took his young family on a vacation road-trip to visit friends in Seattle. Immediately falling in love with the natural beauty and potential for creative work in the Puget Sound area, they returned to L.A. to pack-up their home and permanently moved to the Seattle area, where their 3rd child Bernie was born. Exploring the offerings of Northwest living, there were family camping trips, ethnic festivals, neighborhood gatherings of family and friends at which Jonas played his accordion or piano, having learned to play music by ear. With a certified private pilot’s license up to age 80, his Cessna soared across much of the West Coast.

The years in Seattle, Kenmore, Olympia, and Kirkland were ones of prolific creativity and imaginative invention for Jonas’ artistic skills. As a self-employed artist, he designed, illustrated, constructed and marketed an incredible range of low-cost, cleverly-assembled, practical or fun products. From interactive manipulated toys to mobile pop-up sales displays, from various size and shape mailing containers to collapsible pet carriers that became industry proto-types, Jonas initially worked at his drafting table with fine tip pen and ink and X-ACTO knife to create his myriad of origami-like corrugated-cardboard products.

With no engineering training, Jonas designed logging equipment for Weyerhaeuser, and without an architectural background, he created beautiful home renderings for Seattle area real estate companies as well as ads for various publications. Though by age 60 he successfully acquired digital-design and computer-graphics skills, he was always passionate about using his hands, including as a gifted sketch-artist and painter with oils. His last artistic passion was writing and illustrating a series of original children’s stories with a whimsical science fiction spin to them that the family hopes to have published in the very near future.

Jonas was predeceased by sister Joanna, brother Alfred, and long-time canine buddy “Chuck.” He is survived by brothers Herman and Albert; Jonas’ wife of 65 years, Edite; daughter Cindy; sons Ed and Bernie; 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

Having moved with Edite two years ago from Bothell to Seaport Landing (now Avamere of Port Townsend), Jonas passed peacefully on June 24, 2018 in his bedroom surrounded by family. A non-stop story-teller with a good-natured, off-kilter sense of humor, Jonas was a gregarious character whose own life is perhaps the best story of all. 

A celebration of Life will be Saturday July 14 at 2 p.m. in the Avamere dining room. Please wear anything you wish and as colorful as possible. Avamere at Port Townsend, 1201 Hancock Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368